Monte Carlo to Arles - via the French Riviera

Thursday June 5th 2014

Weather - Warm to Hot & Sunny (yes I know, pretty boring)!

I have been a little slack with my daily offerings, however I hope to make amends today & start to catch up.

We had an early breakfast, checked out & boarded our coach to take us to the ship. A sad farewell to a beautiful city, but excitement as well for our upcoming river cruises.

There was a new model Aston Martin in the foyer of oour hotel. Was tempted to order one for Mike .... until I found out the price :)

Last look at Monte Carlo from the coach:

We headed off via a scenic coastal route along the French Riviera, also known as The Côte d'Azur. Many beautiful beaches & villages where the rich & famous own real esate. Our guide pointed out several properties belonging to Elton John, Brad & Angelina etc. Here are some scenic photos of our drive from Monte Carlo to Nice:

We stopped in Nice (beautiful city) for a short guided tour, then we had 2 hours free time to explore. There is a green park which extends for 4 klms through the centre of the city which contains water displays, childrens play equipment, seats & a tram line. Very clean & organised.

Next we walked to the flower, fresh fruit & vegetable markets which are open every day. What amazing flowers & very inexpensive compared to Australia.

The vegetables looked so fresh & colourful.

The fruit was sensational .... yes we know because we purchased a small sample of apricots, strawberries, cherries, raspberries & peaches & took them a short distance to the beach, sat on a bench & had an early lunch! They tasted so much sweeter & fresher than at home for some reason.

Peaches:

Apricots

Views of the beach from our bench:

Some topless sunbathers:

Back on the road to Arles:

Sandstone mountains & vineyards:

Almost there:

We arrived around 3.30pm (greeted by staff handing out warm scented towels & cold drinks), checked in and arrived in our cabin to find our luggage already there a few minutes later. The cabins are fairly small with a balcony, but quite functional with lot's of storage. I still haven't taken any photos of the cabin or the ship but will do so in the next day or so.

We had a drink in the lounge, then a quick information & safety briefing before heading to dinner at 7.30pm. We have remained in a group with 8 others we met in Monte Carlo, so managed to grab a table large enough for 10. The meal was fantastic, included drinks free flowing & the night was over very quickly. We were in bed around 10.30pm & it still wasnt very dark.

It is now 3pm Friday in Southern France so I will post this now & try to cover todays activities later tonight. No time for spelling checks so all mistakes are typos! We sail at 4.30am apparently.

Betty & Mike